I was there last weekend. I prefer Mae Rim. Without a car, CD is not really doable. With a car, it’s pretty spread out.

The restaurant by the Buddha Cave was surprisingly good though.

8 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

Oh I'm sure he has plenty of money. I don't think you're really understanding who these people are. It's cosplay and attention seeking behavior for adults. They want to present to you something they're not and make you and everyone else feel uncomfortable in the process or at the very least steal your attention.

You are concerned that a hippie is getting more attention than you ?...

... why do you even want attention in the first place ?

On 2/17/2026 at 10:03 PM, NorthernRyland said:

This week is the annual Samoeng Strawberry festival which is a well worth a visit if you're in Chiang Mai but it's lots of noise and chaos so I left for Chiang Dao for 3 days to stay near the cave on the way up to Doi Luang.

It's mid-February now but still cold in the evenings from the cold air that comes down from the mountain. Highly recommend if you're suffering in the heat now in the city.

However, the annual Shambhala festival here in Chiang Dao ended on Sunday so there's so still stragglers floating around. Today I stop at 7-11 and see this guy and some women with him. I can't film his face but he had a long straggly gray bear to match his filthy dreadlocks. The picture isn't great because I was facing the sun from the evening but he looked like he's been sleeping in the dirt and baking in the sun for weeks. Bone thin and sickly looking in general with shabby tattered clothes and flip flops. I feel bad for the poor 7-11 girls who took the time to present themselves well despite their humble background and had to serve this disgusting person.

So the question is, why do I care then? Who cares how some random person is dressed? Well, it's not just him, it's an entire sub-culture of people who do this and it's caught my attention over many years. It's not easy to articulate and takes some thinking but here's by best answer as of now.

Basically we're dealing with a fraudulent person who is lying to you straight to your face and making you notice him, like the teenager who modifies their motorbike exhaust. This guy had enough money to flying to Thailand, stay in a hotel and attend a festival solely intended for foreign tourists yet presents like the opposite. We don't know his story but it's common for these people to come from wealthy backgrounds and are so detached from real life they're still rebelling in to their 30,40,50s and beyond. Identity fraudster and attention seeker could sum him up.

It's even more offensive when they do it in a place like Chiang Dao which has people living actual hard lives and working hard days in order to not starve. Kind of like a vampire but instead of sucking blood they suck the life blood of the culture around them.

Anyways, these people are scum. I know immigration can't deny for that reason alone but everyone is thinking this same thing, especially Thai people.

A few storys came up in my feed today, who so?

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CLBVirEDk/

https://www.facebook.com/share/1L2fJk9c5i/

10 hours ago, Hummin said:

Fair enough, and I think maybe some few here know my tolerance spectrum as well 😁 So I'm maybe not so different than you.

There were many normal hippies there, Thai, Japanese and Chinese too in the mix. It's all in good fun when you're in 20s. Happy to see them enjoying themselves.

6 hours ago, Prubangboy said:

I was there last weekend. I prefer Mae Rim. Without a car, CD is not really doable. With a car, it’s pretty spread out.

The restaurant by the Buddha Cave was surprisingly good though.

I'm very comfortable on the motorbike. Lots of open space and easy roads to manage. I wouldn't compare it much to Mae Rim and I lived in that area for years. Maybe some small slivers here and there but in totality it's a different region.

2 hours ago, Hummin said:

A few storys came up in my feed today, who so?

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CLBVirEDk/

https://www.facebook.com/share/1L2fJk9c5i/

Yeah that sums it up but imagine that guy when he's in his 50 or 60s. This stuff makes Thai people very uncomfortable. You may be used to it but it's deranged when you step outside the bubble.

10 hours ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

'Most basic levels of decency' is opinion, completely subjective. Why not live and let live without judging the physical appearance of others? It's none of your business. If this is 'cosplay with the intention of making others uncomfortable', it worked like a charm on you.

No it's not, we're in Thailand now. It was the same in our countries since forever up until a few decades ago.

4 hours ago, Hummin said:

A few storys came up in my feed today, who so?

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CLBVirEDk/

https://www.facebook.com/share/1L2fJk9c5i/

This site has appeared in my Facebook feed, and I've read a few stories. The writer primarily focuses on taking a crap on ex-pats, which becomes monotonous over time.

6 hours ago, Fact said:

This site has appeared in my Facebook feed, and I've read a few stories. The writer primarily focuses on taking a crap on ex-pats, which becomes monotonous over time.

Well I haven't paid to much attention to it, but I guess it will not be the last time I see it or similar

Been blocking everything about Pattaya and these slice slime eels posting girls and go around bars, but seems impossible. New pages continue to show up in my feed.

8 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

Yeah that sums it up but imagine that guy when he's in his 50 or 60s. This stuff makes Thai people very uncomfortable. You may be used to it but it's deranged when you step outside the bubble.

Most bad farangs are not hippies. The bad guys have short hair, tatts and are aggressive.

12 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

No it's not, we're in Thailand now. It was the same in our countries since forever up until a few decades ago.

It seems you never learned to differentiate fact from opinion, regardless of what country you're in, or how strongly you feel about it. And when you use a phrase like 'since forever', it downgrades your dispute to the level of an emotional adolescent throwing a tantrum.

3 hours ago, khaosokman said:

Most bad farangs are not hippies. The bad guys have short hair, tatts and are aggressive.

Welcome back 🤗

10 hours ago, Fact said:

This site has appeared in my Facebook feed, and I've read a few stories. The writer primarily focuses on taking a crap on ex-pats, which becomes monotonous over time.

I had a brief look at it, and it is quite honestly a mix of many characters we have met along our journey in Thailand.

Here you get the full package of very coloured examples.

No harm in that, and maybe some finds it entertaining

22 hours ago, Fact said:

This site has appeared in my Facebook feed, and I've read a few stories. The writer primarily focuses on taking a crap on ex-pats, which becomes monotonous over time.

I get that but they properly roasted that guy in Pai. Basically what I've been saying here. It's very likely the guy I saw came from Pai for the festival.

15 hours ago, khaosokman said:

Most bad farangs are not hippies. The bad guys have short hair, tatts and are aggressive.

That's true. This guy wasn't causing any real problems just being offensive in his appearance.

I have some old T-shirts which are getting holes in the shoulders or even have tiny holes from pipe cinders and it my wife wants to pitch them. Looking like a bum is not well received in Thailand. I've seen people get turned away at immigration for wearing sleeveless shirts even. They take this stuff seriously over here.

Thais accept long hair on men when it's tidy and tied back, often with coconut oil. I think of some of the middle class Thais owning their own coffee shops or guesthouses, some rock bands.

In my experience Thais don't like unkempt long hair or scruffy all round, probably because it reminds them of the Thai tramps they see wandering the streets, barefoot, in grimy, filthy clothes. These guys are usually mentally ill, too much ya ba, schizophrenia, paranoia or a combination of all three, has seen them fall through the cracks of Thai society.

So when they see a Westerner with dirty bare feet ( not a monk!), wearing clothes with holes in them or worse, plus matted hair, they're not impressed.

On another theme, in all my years in Thailand I only once came across a Thai with body odour, and that was up in Loei on a public bus in a 'cold' winter. The guy's socks behind me had clearly not been changed for a while!

A Thai explained it to me, in a society where in the cities, especially Bangkok, people are forced to stand very near each other on public transport, it would be an act of great selfishness to have not washed.

On 2/17/2026 at 10:03 AM, NorthernRyland said:

This week is the annual Samoeng Strawberry festival which is a well worth a visit if you're in Chiang Mai but it's lots of noise and chaos so I left for Chiang Dao for 3 days to stay near the cave on the way up to Doi Luang.

It's mid-February now but still cold in the evenings from the cold air that comes down from the mountain. Highly recommend if you're suffering in the heat now in the city.

However, the annual Shambhala festival here in Chiang Dao ended on Sunday so there's so still stragglers floating around. Today I stop at 7-11 and see this guy and some women with him. I can't film his face but he had a long straggly gray bear to match his filthy dreadlocks. The picture isn't great because I was facing the sun from the evening but he looked like he's been sleeping in the dirt and baking in the sun for weeks. Bone thin and sickly looking in general with shabby tattered clothes and flip flops. I feel bad for the poor 7-11 girls who took the time to present themselves well despite their humble background and had to serve this disgusting person.

So the question is, why do I care then? Who cares how some random person is dressed? Well, it's not just him, it's an entire sub-culture of people who do this and it's caught my attention over many years. It's not easy to articulate and takes some thinking but here's by best answer as of now.

Basically we're dealing with a fraudulent person who is lying to you straight to your face and making you notice him, like the teenager who modifies their motorbike exhaust. This guy had enough money to flying to Thailand, stay in a hotel and attend a festival solely intended for foreign tourists yet presents like the opposite. We don't know his story but it's common for these people to come from wealthy backgrounds and are so detached from real life they're still rebelling in to their 30,40,50s and beyond. Identity fraudster and attention seeker could sum him up.

It's even more offensive when they do it in a place like Chiang Dao which has people living actual hard lives and working hard days in order to not starve. Kind of like a vampire but instead of sucking blood they suck the life blood of the culture around them.

Anyways, these people are scum. I know immigration can't deny for that reason alone but everyone is thinking this same thing, especially Thai people.

This made me think of this thread.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/17pFAGNoRD/

19 hours ago, TedG said:

This made me think of this thread.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/17pFAGNoRD/

yup that's them.

20 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

yup that's them.

Im over 70 with dreads. I have beads and accoutrements. It gets me a few freebies a year from the girls who hang in those crowds